One example of a refrigerated cabinet is disclosed in my prior PCT Published application PCT/CA2005/044060 published 19th May 2005 which discloses a modular system of providing a cooling cabinet primarily for wine bottles where the cabinet and the storage capacity provided thereby can be increased by adding further modules to the construction. In this device the cooling is provided in one embodiment by a conventional cooling system located in the cabinet itself or in a second arrangement, the cooling is provided as separate cooling elements each within a respective one of a plurality of cooling racks located in the cabinet.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,715,298 (Guo) assigned to Hebei Energy Conservation and issued Apr. 6, 2004 is disclosed a thermoelectric cooling element where a conventional cooling plate uses the thermoelectric effect to form a cooled end and a heated end. A heat dispersing member is connected to the hot end which will cooperate with a fan for discharging heated air from the heated end, and a cool transmitting member is connected to the cool end. The patent disclosure relates to the technique for connecting these components.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,173,575 (Hall) issued Jan. 16, 2001 is disclosed a food contact machine such as a meat slicer where a modular cooling element using the thermoelectric effect can be inserted into the construction to effect cooling of the machine.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,581,389 (Rudick) issued Jun. 24, 2003 is disclosed a Coca Cola dispensing machine which includes a conventional cooling module which can slide into the machine.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,463,754 (Matesanz) issued Oct. 15, 2002 is disclosed a cabinet for cooling wine bottles which has a series of vertical panels for supporting the bottles and a refrigeration element using the thermoelectric effect placed close to and parallel to an inside rear wall of the cabinet.
The thermoelectric effect is the conversion of a heat differential into electric voltage or the conversion of electrical voltage into a heat differential. The production of voltage from a difference in heat is known as the Seebeck effect while the use of electric voltage to produce a heat difference, for example for the purpose of cooling an enclosed space, is known as the Peltier effect. Thermoelectric cooling systems can be used in different thermoelectric orientations as no refrigeration fluids are utilized and have significant lifespans due to a lack of moving parts.
The amount of cool generated through the Peltier effect in currently available units is typically insufficient for many applications such as freezers or air conditioning but can be, and is widely, used in chillers for beverages such as wine coolers. In such chillers, the thermoelectric cooling units are often installed inside walls of the enclosure before the injection of insulation during manufacturing. This may make any necessary repair or maintenance difficult due to accessibility issues.